Sekhamane Highlights Need for Parliamentary Oversight in Southern Africa

Maseru

A recent keynote address by Right Honourable TlohangSekhamane, Speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho, this week has underscored the critical role of parliamentary oversight in combating corruption, maladministration and impunity across Southern Africa.  

The speech was delivered at the 17^th SADCOPAC (Southern African Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees) Conference and 21^st Annual General Meeting held in Maseru

Shifting his focus to the ongoing conference’s theme: “Strengthening Oversight for Sustainable Development: Enhancing Parliamentary Engagement in Public Financial Management,” Sekhamane highlighted three significant maladies affecting Africa: corruption, maladministration and impunity.

He argued that these issues are central to Africa’s lagging performance in global indicators such as GDP, poverty rates and governance indices, dismissing theories attributing these failings to cultural biases in global indicators and asserting the need for practical solutions and accountability.

Sekhamane emphasised that parliamentarians have a fundamental duty to represent the people, protect their welfare through effective legislation, allocate resources responsibly and exercise oversight to prevent abuses of power. 

He expressed concern that parliaments might be ceding too much control to executive branches, undermining their ability to address critical issues such as unemployment.

Among the many provocative questions he had for the delegates at the conference were whether the Public Accounts Committees of their country are known for their strict, no-nonsense approach, or for the high-profile prosecutions resulting from their work. 

He also wanted to know about the rate of corruption and other maladies and if the PACs present at the conference would return home to successfully eradicate the issues. 

Sekhamane’s address served as a call to action for parliamentarians to strengthen their oversight roles, tackle corruption and ensure accountability in public financial management. 

Having addressed multiple organisations regarding corruption issues in Lesotho, Sekhamane left an impression of a leader hungry for change very ready to work for it. One of his most common addresses includes enhancing parliamentary engagement in the Public Financial Management.